RENE Baterbonia and Divine Adili's untimely passing broke a lot of hearts at Katipunan and left the Blue Eagles without its future frontline.
Let's get to know them better:
Baterbonia, 19, was one of the most sought after talents coming out of the high school given the gaudy resume he has already built. The 6-foot-4 slotman from Talacogon, Agusan del Sur looked bound for big things when he committed to Ateneo after studying high school at Ateneo de Davao under coach Jess Evangelio.
He was named the MVP at the 2025 Palarong Pambansa after anchoring Davao Region's run to the title in Ilocos Norte and sustained that brilliance as he led the Philippine team to the gold medal at the ASEAN School Games in Brunei.
Baterbonia continued to excel for Off-Campus Residences x Toyomoto in the 2026 Smart-NBTC Mindanao Regional Championship, helping the Davao City crew book a ticket to the National Finals while earning a Mythical Team selection.
In the Nationals, he led the league with his 12.3 rebounds to go with his 12.7 points, 2.3 blocks, and 1.3 steals while guiding his team to a Supreme 16 finish in Division 1.
Before heading to Ateneo, he went one more round with Davao Region in the 2026 Palarong Pambansa held in his home province. Unfortunately, DAVRAA ended up as runner-up to CALABARZON.
READ Ateneo players Rene Baterbonia, Divine Adili die in drowning incident
Adili, 21, was an incoming sophomore for the Blue Eagles who averaged 8.4 points and 8.3 rebounds last UAAP Season 88.
Dominant ever since, he studied high school for New Era University where he helped the Junior Hunters win back-to-back NAASCU crowns as he also took home MVP honors in both years.
Baterbonia and Adili weren't just painful losses to the basketball program but also as future parts of this vaunted Blue Eagle band of brothers.
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